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RAKDAP1 Flash and Debug Tool Quick Start Guide

Installation​

As mentioned, RAKDAP1 is an SWD flash and debug tool that runs DAPLink to connect your RAKwireless product to your computer. It has an easy to use command line interface and supports the leading industry standard tool chains to program and debug the target system.

The following are the supported tools:

  1. pyOCD
  2. IAR Workbench
  3. Keil MDK

To use it, the open-source pyOCD Python SW is required. If you have already installed Python 3 on your computer, you can proceed to Installation of pyOCD.

Python 3 Installation​

Before anything else, it requires you to install Python 3 on your computer. Download the latest Python 3 from the official Python website. Go to their Python Downloads and choose an installer depending on your system.

Windows​

  1. Choose the python installer for Windows.
  2. Once downloaded, start the installation process.
  3. Make sure to check the Add python.exe to PATH. Otherwise, you will have to add it manually later.
Figure 564: Installing Python for Windows
  1. Wait until the installation is finished.
Figure 565: Disable the Path Limit
  1. After the installation has finished, open a command prompt window and check the versions of Python and pip3 using the following command listed below.
python --version
pip --version
Figure 566: Checking the Python and pip3 versions
NOTE

pip3 is required to install additional Python packages.

MacOS​

Open the terminal on your Mac machine and type the following commands:

ruby -e $(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)
export PATH="/usr/local/opt/python/libexec/bin:$PATH"
NOTE

If your macOS is based on Apple M chips, you might need to use this path:

export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/python/libexec/bin:$PATH" or export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/python@3/libexec/bin:$PATH"

brew install python
python --version
brew install libusb

Linux​

Open the terminal on your Linux machine and type the following command:

sudo apt-get install python3

pyOCD Installation​

Next step is to install pyOCD which is the SW tool required to flash bootloaders and application SW.

  1. To start the installation, open the command prompt and use the following command:
pip3 install pyocd
Figure 567: Installing pyOCD
  1. After the installation is finished, check the version.
pyocd --version
Figure 568: pyOCD version

Support Packages Installation​

To flash and debug MCU, DAPLink needs support packages. These support packages are MDK files. For more details, you can refer to the supporting list of MDK.

But before installing, check the list first to know the required package for your RAKwireless product.

MODELSUPPORTED PACKAGE
RAK3172 Modulestm32wle5
RAK811 Modulestm32l151cb
RAK8710stm32l151cb
RAK4200 Modulestm32l071kb
Products using RAK4200stm32l071kb
RAK4270 Modulestm32l071kb
Products using RAK4270stm32l071kb
RAK7201/7202/7203stm32l071kb
RAK4600 Modulenrf52
RAK4600 Evaluation Boardnrf52
RAK8212 Boardnrf52
RAK813 Modulenrf52
RAK5010nrf52840
RAK4630nrf52840
RAK4631nrf52840
RAK3401nrf52840
RAK4260 Evaluation Boardatsaml21j18a
Products using RAK4260atsaml21j18a
RAK11720 and its variantsAMA3B1KK-KBR

To install the support package, use the following command:

pyocd pack --i \<PACKAGE\>

For example, if you have RAK4630 module, enter the following command:

pyocd pack --i nrf52840
Figure 569: Installing NRF52840 into the RAK4630 module

To check installed packages, you can use the command:

pyocd pack -s

Before flashing a new firmware, you can also perform the erase command.

warning

Erasing the flash memory will remove all configured parameters in the modules like factory settings and LoRaWAN parameters (EUIs and keys).

pyocd erase -t \<PACKAGE\> --chip

For example, if you use RAK4630 module, you can use this command:

pyocd erase -t nrf52840 --chip

How to Flash an MCU​

Before flashing a firmware or a bootloader for your product, connect it first to the RAKDAP1 SWD interface.

Here is an overview on how to connect the SWD interface. If you cannot find your product in the list, check the product documentation in the RAK Documentation Center.

RAK3172 Module​

Figure 570: RAK3172 Module Pinout

RAK811 Module​

Figure 571: RAK811 Module Pinout

RAK4200 Module​

Figure 572: RAK4200 Module Pinout

RAK4600 Module​

Figure 573: RAK4600 Module Pinout

RAK4270 Module​

Figure 574: RAK4270 Module Pinout

RAK4260 Module​

Figure 575: RAK4260 Module Pinout

RAK4260 Evaluation Board​

Figure 576: RAK4260 Evaluation Board Pinout

RAK4600 Evaluation Board​

Figure 577: RAK4600 Evaluation Board Pinout

RAK4630 Module​

  • For RAK4630 module, it is recommended to include an external DC supply or battery to prevent errors during bootloader flashing.
Figure 578: RAK4630 in WisBlock Base

Open the command prompt or terminal, then go to the directory where you saved the firmware file you want to flash using the cd <path> command.

The pyocd command syntax to flash the file is the following:

pyocd flash -t \<PACKAGE\> \<FILENAME\>
  • Change <PACKAGE> to the support package from above list.
  • Change <FILENAME> to the filename you want to flash. The file should be in .hex format.

Here is an example to flash the bootloader to a RAK4631 WisBlock Core module:

pyocd flash -t nrf52840 RAK4631_latest_final.hex
Figure 579: Flashing the bootloader into the RAK4630 module
Figure 580: Flashing bootloader completed